Panel from the palace at Madina al-Zahra near Cordoba, Spain, 10th century

p6, The Moors - The Islamic West - 7th-15th Centuries AD by David Nicolle:
Fragment of a painted stucco or ceramic wall panel found in the ruins of the palace at Madina al-Zahra near Cordoba which -
like a more damaged picture of an infantry archer - dates from the 10th century.
It is very important because it shows a cavalryman in a dir' full mail hauberk with long sleeves and an integral mighfar coif over his head and face.
He probably has a round helmet, perhaps with a crest at the front and a broad nasal.
Most significant of all, he carries a large kite-shaped shield two centuries before this was adopted by the Normans.
(Site Museum, inv.MA/UM-95, Medina Azahara, Spain)